


Ares

by SnowyK



Series: House of Horrors [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, F/M, M/M, early sasunaru, trans!Haku
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-02-25 04:40:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21630298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnowyK/pseuds/SnowyK
Summary: Sasuke's had his fair share of strange missions as a hunter, but this may be the weirdest yet.
Relationships: Gaara/Haku (Naruto), Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Series: House of Horrors [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1559023
Comments: 4
Kudos: 50
Collections: Uzushi0 Rarepair Events





	Ares

Sasuke’s been asked to clear an area of monsters before. Last week he drove off a horde of lesser demons from a primary school. Last month he spent days figuring out the creature terrorising a small village was a selkie who’d had her coat stolen. Kakashi still hasn’t forgiven him for letting her go and killing the man holding her hostage. He may be a monster slayer, but he isn’t heartless.

His newest assignment had been passed from hunter to hunter like a hot potato until it landed upon him – literally. Sakura had dumped the file on his lap and declared she was going on holiday with her girlfriend instead. Sai bailed due to car troubles. He’s had car troubles eleven times in the past six months and Sasuke’s begun to suspect he’s pouring acid into his engine to avoid the less favourable missions.

Today’s job is a little more effort than usual, but Sasuke can’t complain. Some days he’d rather shoot himself in the leg than listen to the chaos of the office. Missions involving surveillance and silence are far more his style.

The file reported slayings of a few adults near an abandoned castle, and some unsolved murders further out were also included. Some of the victims appeared drained of blood with puncture marks, but some were mutilated beyond recognition and torn apart. Eye witness claims ranged from werewolves to vampires, and one even claimed a tailed man on fire was responsible.

Sasuke suspects multiple creatures are involved and merely use the castle as a base. In any case, he hopes he won’t have to fight an army by himself. He doesn’t want to draw _too_ much attention.

* * *

The nearby town is half-abandoned. Several houses are boarded up and already starting to wear down. He feels eyes upon him as he walks the streets, noting the many cats in the area. Some of the townspeople slam their windows shut when they catch sight of him, which isn’t very helpful with gathering intelligence.

Sasuke rolls his eyes and makes his way to the residence which filed the request. He raps his knuckles sharply against the door and barely has to wait before the door flies open. A portly man ushers him in, beady eyes watching behind him before he shuts the door. “Took you long enough,” he says gruffly.

Sasuke hates him already. “Gatō?”

“That’s me. You the hunter?” Gatō rummages through his fridge and gets himself a beer. He does not offer one to Sasuke.

“Yes.” This is exactly the kind of man his mother had warned him about – the type to blame everything on monsters and encourage violence regardless of innocence. Part of Sasuke wants to kill him and move on. His conscience says to complete the mission, collect the money and _then_ kill him. “Do you have any additional information.”

“Friendly, aren’t cha?” Gatō laughs and takes another swig of his beer. Sasuke doesn’t think he has a speck of insight in his whole body. “Half the town has fled. Wimps, the lot of them. Some of my men have been killed or disappeared. Been happenin’ for a few months now. Reckon they’re from the castle. I own that castle, you know. Bought it for myself and found them lurking around! Ruinin’ my business, I’ll tell ya.”

Sasuke stares at him until Gatō fidgets. “Why are the rest of you still here.”

Gatō sniffs and glowers at him. “Too much money invested. Bought some mercs to take them out but haven’t heard back from them. The rest of the people owe me money and will be beat by my men if they leave. They’re not gonna get away with stealing my money.”

Sasuke’s fingers itch with the temptation to kill him now. A man like this has his money in his house, either in the walls or floor. It wouldn’t take too long to find. “What do they owe you for.”

“Protection,” Gatō smirks, pleased with himself. “A tax to live safely in this town. With the castle being a pest, had to rethink my finances. Worked a dream.”

“The people who died. Were any of them villagers?” Sasuke asks.

“All my men. Worked well for proof!” Gatō thumps his beer on the table. “Just need you to kill the vermin for me.”

Sasuke calms himself imagining how Mikoto would react to Gatō and reminds himself killing him now and carrying his wealth would be too heavy just yet. “You’ll stay here until I’m done?”

“With that investment?” Gatō snorts. “Wouldn’t leave that behind.”

“Good.” Sasuke can just kill him later. “Anyone else I should talk to?”

“They’re all dumb fucks. Just go do your job already.”

He didn’t have to tell Sasuke twice.

* * *

He doesn’t find anything else in the town other than more cats. A tabby one perches on his shoulder as he eats his lunch, mewing curiously. Sasuke slips out a slice of meat and feeds her, instantly feeling guilty when other cats come begging.

“I didn’t bring enough for all of you. I’m sorry.” One of the cats bows its head and watches him a little too intently. Sasuke considers it and, after a quick scan of his surroundings, activates his Sharingan. Instantly he understands – the cat has a very human aura, and gives the impression of a young man in his early twenties. Sasuke lets his vision return to normal. “I didn’t bring enough for you either, shifter.”

The cat’s tail swings before he transforms into human form. “Nice eyes you have there,” he says, sitting neatly on the dusty ground. His voice is light and though he looks harmless and delicate, Sasuke senses a danger about him. “Why are you here?”

A rather useless question, given Sasuke’s uniform. “Investigating,” Sasuke says, breaking off a section of meat to give a two-tailed cat. The lesser demon meows its thanks and scampers away.

“Investigating.” The pretty man hums and brushes long hair back. Sasuke catches sight of a binder as the man moves, as well as a needle hidden in the folds of his robe. “Investigating what?”

Sasuke takes another few bites of sandwich, waiting for the man to lose his patience. He doesn’t. “Who needs help,” he says at last.

The shifter hums, clearly assessing him. Sasuke doesn’t know what he sees but the man seems to come to a decision. “I’ll tell them not to kill you immediately.” He swiftly transforms back into a cat and his black form disappears around a corner.

“Charming,” Sasuke says to the cats.

..

The castle isn’t that big, really. Certainly bigger than a house and maybe equivalent to a mansion, but with the design of a typical castle. It doesn’t look too old, so Sasuke suspects it was built by rich people who later died or ran out of money.

It has a smell to it Sasuke can’t quite place- hints of werewolf and vampire, but also demons and other creatures he’s unfamiliar with. Nobody bothers him as he walks up the main driveway, and he doesn’t see anything move as he approaches.

He’s no fool. He knows he’s being watched.

Flicking his head so his hair covers his eyes, he awakens his Sharingan. There are people on every level, some near the windows and some deeper inside. He makes it to the front door and figures he could go about this one of two ways – approach as a neutral party and ask what’s going on, given this clearly isn’t the demonic orgy the department assumed, or have a fun exercise of fighting twenty-odd supernatural creatures.

He rings the doorbell. It doesn’t work, which either means the battery is dead or a faery destroyed it. He knocks.

He waits for several minutes, seeing several people watching him but none making a move. He considers entering anyway, but that could be read as antagonising. He doesn’t mind being taken for an idiot so he leans against a wall, enjoys the tension as he reaches into his bag, and pulls out a book.

He gets three chapters in before the door opens. The man from before stares at him. “You are quite strange.”

Sasuke’s lip twitches. “I get that a lot.”

The man steps back. “I am Haku. I welcome you inside, provided you do not attack us.”

Sasuke would be amused at the formal wording if he couldn’t sense the magic attached to it. The castle is warded, then. “I am Sasuke. I would only act in clear self-defence,” he says honestly. Haku nods and Sasuke walks inside, the wards washing over him and allowing him entrance.

“Ew, what’s a human doing in here?” A redheaded woman narrows her eyes from behind her glasses, hands on her hips. “A hunter? Fuck off.”

“He’s not just human,” a man with red tattoos on his cheeks drawls, sprawled in the corner against the biggest dog Sasuke has ever seen in his life. The dog regards him with a happy pant. “What are you?”

“Oh my god, Kiba, you can’t just ask someone what they are.” A woman with her hair in buns approaches Sasuke with complete confidence and holds out her hand to shake. “Tenten. That’s Kiba, you met Haku. The dog’s Akamaru. And that’s Karin.”

“Sure, I’m the afterthought,” Karin rolls her eyes and stalks off. “I’ll get the big guns.”

“Hey fuck you, I’m a big gun too!” Kiba protests.

This is far more of a family dynamic than Sasuke anticipated. “I’m a hunter. We got reports of murders around the area so I came to see what’s going on.”

“You’re here to kill us?” Kiba scans Sasuke up and down, still slouching against Akamaru. “I’m not impressed.”

“Depends on who’s actually the victim here,” Sasuke says, increasingly certain that the real monster is the human he left in the village.

“You play both sides then,” Haku says, the slight smirk conveying innuendo. Sasuke has heard this so many times he can’t stop the eyeroll.

“Oh please, he’s totally gay,” Kiba says.

“I meant human and demon,” Haku says airily, instigating an argument only the two of them pay attention to.

“It seems… lively here,” Sasuke says to Tenten, who’s led him to one of the couches.

“That’s an understatement,” she scoffs. She seems to consider something for a second, tilting her head. “Have you met Mei?”

Sasuke takes a moment to process the subject change. “The selkie?”

Tenten’s eyes brighten. “Yes! She’s a friend of mine, she told me she finally got her coat back because of a hunter. That was you, wasn’t it?”

Damn it, word isn’t supposed to be getting around this fast. “Yes,” Sasuke says reluctantly.

“Oh good, we shouldn’t have to kill you then,” Tenten sighs. “You’re quite brave to come here alone, though. Or very stupid.”

“Or very powerful! Which would be exciting if we had to fight, but also I just ate so much food and really don’t want to tear the house down.” Sasuke looks up to see a cheerful blond man take the seat opposite him, looking entirely human other than the scars on his cheeks. A redheaded man sits beside him, stoic and eerily calm. They’re clearly the most powerful in the house, Sasuke doesn’t need his Sharingan to know that. The blond grins suddenly. “Hey! If you stick around for a while, can we fight later?”

Sasuke can’t help but wonder where the introverts are. Well, other than the one drilling holes into his skull with his eyes. “Sure, if circumstances allow.”

“Yes!” the man pumps his fist with an enthusiasm Sasuke finds unexpectedly endearing. “I’m Naruto, one of the kind-of leaders here. Mostly because I ward away most of our threats. This is Gaara, same deal.”

“If you can’t talk them into submission first,” Haku coughs, taking a seat beside Gaara and leaning into him.

“Guys, he’s the one who helped Mei!” Tenten says with a grin. “He can’t be all bad.”

“As long as we can still fight,” Naruto says, determined. “I haven’t had a good fight with someone new in ages.”

This isn’t exactly what Sasuke had been expecting. “I came to see what’s going on with the murders,” he says flatly. The humans are blaming you but, well. They always do that. What’s the deal.”

“Fucking Gatō, that’s what,” Naruto says, rolling his eyes. Akamaru appears out of nowhere – and really, how does a dog this big have stealth like that? – and dumps his head into Sasuke’s lap. He must still smell like cat, Sasuke reasons, burying his fingers until they’re gone. That is some _thick_ fur. “He says he bought this place but really, there was nobody to buy it from. Then he wanted us out but like we’d give this place up! He’s been driving the locals out and bring his goons in.”

“He said you’ve been scaring away the locals.” Sasuke watches Akamaru give him a few curious sniffs. “Blamed you for the murders.”

“We’ve only killed those who try to kill us,” Gaara says suddenly. “His men. The ones of us who’ve been here longest had a good relationship with the locals, and they didn’t have a problem with the rest of us. We kept their threats out. But Gatō came with his thugs and most of them had to leave.”

“We managed without death as long as we could,” Naruto says, sounding like he regrets the killings. “But they were bringing silver weapons and cursed things and a couple of the village children died. We couldn’t have that, and. Here we are.”

Sasuke hums while Akamaru goes back to Kiba. “Figured as much. I’ll kill him then.” He pauses. “Why haven’t you killed him?”

“Naruto hopes he can sway Gatō with his powers of persuasion,” Gaara says flatly.

“And he also hopes Gatō will hire some actual competition so he can have a good fight,” Tenten adds. “He was really excited you’re not human.”

This is creeping up Sasuke’s list of Weirdest Missions Ever. “Why not host a battle and invite really powerful demons. Make the friendly intention clear.”

Naruto’s eyes light up and Haku groans. “Now you’ve done it.”

“Hey Naruto,” Kiba says, sauntering over with a wolfish grin. “Akamaru says Sasuke’s half vampire. He should give you one hell of a fight.”

The volume in the room goes from minimal to deafening and Sasuke covers his ears with a sigh, wondering where his peaceful morning went.

**Author's Note:**

> Will probably add to this as a series :) and somehow Gato became kinda Aussie HAHA


End file.
